Intra-arterial chemotherapy with concomitant hemofiltration (chemofiltration) for treatment of loco-regional or pelvic metastases from malignant melanoma

Loco-regional or pelvic metastases from malignant melanoma (MM) of the lower limbs or pelvis are usually refractory to systemic chemotherapy, the limiting factor being systemic toxicity. An attempt to improve this low response rate using a novel loco-regional approach involving intra-arterial high dose chemotherapy with concomitant hemofiltration of the venous effluent of the pelvis, hence chemofiltration, was studied, Chemofiltration was performed in seven MM patients, The arterial catheter and the venous cannula were placed in the aorta and the inferior vena cava just distal to the renal vessels, High-dose melphalan (1 mg/kg) or cis-platinum (200 mg/m(2)) was injected into the arterial catheter, Blood was pumped out into the hemofiltration unit at a rate of 500-700 ml/min, The filtered blood was returned via a catheter placed in the superior vena cava, Despite the extensive fluid exchange (9,700-15,000 mi), the procedure was well tolerated, Out of six patients who remained with measurable disease, three had a partial response lasting 5-12 months, two had stabilization of their disease for 3 months, and one developed a rapid progression, Chemofiltration is feasible in MM patients and is a viable option in locally advanced or metastatic malignant melanoma confined to the limb or pelvis.